ROBERT JONES, INDIVIDUALLY, AND AS FATHER AND NEXT FRIEND, AND MIRIAM JONES, INDIVIDUALLY, AND AS MOTHER AND NEXT FRIEND OF ROBERT JONES, A MINOR CHILD, APPELLANTS,
v.
THE CITY OF CORAL SPRINGS, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1997-05-14
No. 96-2113
GLICKSTEIN, J., and OFTEDAL, RICHARD L., Associate Judge, concur.
694 So. 2d 819 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1997) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

A minor was injured during a pickup basketball game in a Coral Springs public park when another teenager punched him in the face. The city moved for summary judgment, which the trial court granted, and the appellate court affirmed, holding that municipalities have no duty to supervise typical recreational activities during low-use hours in public parks.


Holding

The court held that the City had no duty to supervise typical recreational activities during low-use hours in public parks, and therefore no reasonable jury could find the City liable for injuries resulting from a punch during a pickup basketball game. The court affirmed the summary judgment in favor of the City.


Headnotes

[1] A governmental subdivision may be liable for injuries occurring in a public park if it sponsors or schedules an unusually dangerous activity or has reason to anticipate a…

[2] Typical recreational activity during low-use hours in a public park, without additional risk factors, does not create a jury question regarding the governmental subdivisi…

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Key Quotes

“When the governmental subdivision sponsors or schedules an unusually dangerous activity at a park or has reason to anticipate a crowd so large that a private landowner would be obligated to provide supervision under like circumstances, the standard of care required of a governmental subdivision may create a jury question. On the other hand, typical recreational activity during low-use hours, without some additional risk factor, does not create a jury question concerning the governmental subdivision's standard of care.”

Establishes the legal standard distinguishing when a municipality owes a duty to supervise park activities

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Facts & Procedural History

Robert Jones was playing basketball at a public park in Coral Springs. During the game, a teenager whom Jones was guarding complained about fouls. Aft…

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Topics

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Opinion of the Court
KLEIN, Judge.

KLEIN, Judge.

Plaintiff, who had come to a park in Coral Springs to shoot baskets, became involved in a game with five other teenagers. During the game one of the boys being guarded by plaintiff complained that plaintiff was fouling him, and after more complaints and about twenty minutes of play, the boy punched plaintiff in the face causing injuries which required surgery. The trial court disposed of plaintiffs claim against the City by a summary judgment and we affirm.

In Dennis v. City of Tampa, 581 So. 2d 1345 (Fla. 2d DCA), rev. denied, 591 So. 2d 181 (Fla.1991), plaintiff was walking on a path in a park used by walkers, joggers, and bicyclists. She was injured when a negligent bicyclist struck her and sued the City which operated the park. Although the injury in the present case resulted from an intentional act, and the injury in Dennis resulted from a negligent one, we find Judge Altenbemd’s opinion affirming a summary judgment for the city persuasive:

When the governmental subdivision sponsors or schedules an unusually dangerous activity at a park or has reason to anticipate a crowd so large that a private landowner would be obligated to provide supervision under like circumstances, the standard of care required of a governmental subdivision may create a jury question. On the other hand, typical recreational activity during low-use hours, without some additional risk factor, does not create a jury question concerning the governmental subdivision’s standard of care. A ease should not be submitted to a jury merely because an accident in a public park might have been prevented if more tax dollars had been spent on greater supervision. This analysis is not based on the defense of sovereign immunity, but rather on the scope of the standard of care owed by a governmental subdivision under any duty to supervise public facilities.

We are convinced that no reasonable jury could find that the City is obligated to pay for supervision of park patrons engaged in typical recreational activities in order to prevent negligent conduct during low-use hours or in areas that are not expected to attract crowds. Although juries might reasonably disagree about the specific standard of care owing to children or adults at swimming pools and other premises expected to attract large crowds engaged in potentially dangerous activity, this case does not present such a circumstance.

Dennis, 581 So. 2d at 1349-50. (footnotes omitted).

Although there had been two robberies and one simple battery in the park in a fifteen month period prior to this incident, they were not related to pickup basketball games. Injuries, resulting from intentional acts or negligence, are not out of the ordinary in sports like basketball, whether the games are supervised or not. We don’t see how the city could have, or should be expected to have prevented this injury. Accordingly, on the authority of Dennis, we affirm the summary judgment.

GLICKSTEIN, J., and OFTEDAL, RICHARD L., Associate Judge, concur.


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Cited By

  • …ng unique policy concerns involving governmental entities, we held that a city owed no duty to supervise a typical recreational activity at a public park during low-use hours, without some additional risk factor. See Jones v. City of Coral Springs, 694 So. 2d 819, 820 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997). Accordingly, we affirmed a summary judgment in favor of the city where the plaintiff was punched in the face during a pickup basketball game, as we did not “see how the city could have, or should be expected to have preven…

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